LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Transportation Security Administration said Friday its officers at a Texas airport appear to have properly followed procedures when they allegedly forced a woman to remove her nipple rings -- one with pliers -- but acknowledged the procedures should be changed .

The woman involved -- Mandi Hamlin -- told reporters earlier Friday she was humiliated by last month 's incident , in which she was forced to painfully remove the piercings behind a curtain as she heard snickers from male TSA officers nearby . The incident occurred at the Lubbock , Texas , airport .

The officers `` rightly insisted that the alarm that was raised be resolved , '' the TSA said in a statement posted on its Web site Friday afternoon . `` TSA supports the thoroughness of the officers involved as they were acting to protect the passengers and crews of the flights departing Lubbock that day . ''

However , `` TSA has reviewed the procedures themselves and agrees that they need to be changed , '' the statement said . `` In the future , TSA will inform passengers that they have the option to resolve the alarm through a visual inspection of the article in lieu of removing the item in question . ''

Hamlin and her lawyer , celebrity attorney Gloria Allred , said they want a public apology from the agency , as well as a guarantee that future passengers with piercings will be treated with dignity and respect .

Allred pointed out that TSA 's Web site says passengers with piercings can undergo a pat-down inspection if they do not want to take their piercings out -- an option she said Hamlin was never offered .

`` The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary , '' Allred told reporters at a news conference . `` Last time that I checked , a nipple was not a dangerous weapon . ''

She said if an apology was not forthcoming , `` Mandi is going to have to consider her legal options . ''

Attempts by CNN to reach Allred for a response to the TSA statement Friday afternoon were unsuccessful .

TSA said in its statement it acknowledges `` that our procedures caused difficulty for the passenger involved and regrets -LRB- the -RRB- situation in which she found herself . We appreciate her raising awareness on this issue and we are changing the procedures to ensure that this does not happen again . ''

The incident occurred February 24 as Hamlin , 37 , was preparing to fly to Dallas-Fort Worth from Lubbock , where she had been visiting her elderly great-uncle .

Hamlin said she also has navel and ear piercings and has never set off a metal detector or been singled out for additional screening at an airport .

She did not set off the metal detector at Lubbock International Airport , but was pulled to the side for additional screening , Allred said . A hand wand used by a TSA officer beeped when it was waved over her breasts .

Hamlin told the officer she had nipple piercings , Allred said , and that officer called over another officer , who told her she would need to remove them .

`` Ms. Hamlin did not want to remove her nipple piercings , '' Allred said , reading from a letter she sent TSA . `` After nipple rings are inserted , the skin can often heal around the piercing and the rings can be extremely difficult and painful to remove . In addition , once removed , the pierced skin may close up almost immediately , making it difficult and painful to reinsert the piercing . ''

More officers were called over , and the group grew to four male and two female TSA officers , according to Hamlin . Also , a small crowd of onlookers had started to gather . The officers insisted that Hamlin remove the nipple rings , Allred said .

`` She felt humiliated by the scene that the TSA officers were making , '' Allred said .

`` With tears streaming down her face , she again asked to show the piercings to a TSA officer instead of having to remove them . She was told , however , she would not be allowed to fly unless she removed them . Had she been told that she had a right to a pat-down , she would have chosen that option . ''

She eventually was taken to a private area behind a curtain to remove the piercings , Allred said . One came out easily , but the other would not , and she called to an officer that she was having trouble and would need pliers . She was handed a large pair , Allred said .

`` As Ms. Hamlin struggled to remove the piercing , behind the curtain she could hear a growing number of predominately male TSA officers snickering in the background , '' Allred said in the letter .

`` Mandi Hamlin was publicly humiliated . ... Clearly , this is not how passengers should be treated . '' Watch the passenger demonstrate removing the jewelry ''

Afterward , Hamlin underwent another scan , but realized she had forgotten to remove her navel ring . She offered to remove it , Allred said , but an officer told her it was not necessary because he could see it . Hamlin wondered why a similar visual inspection of her nipple rings would not have sufficed , Allred said .

`` I would n't wish this experience upon anyone , '' Hamlin told reporters . `` I felt surprised , embarrassed , humiliated and scared . No one deserves to go through this . ''

In a statement earlier Friday , the TSA said it `` is well aware of terrorists ' interest in hiding dangerous items in sensitive areas of the body . Therefore , we have a duty to the American public to resolve any alarm that we discover . ''

TSA included in its statement a picture of a prototype training device it will use to simulate a `` bra bomb '' in training and testing its officers .

Hamlin said she had to visit the person who originally pierced her nipples to get the rings reinserted , and said the process was excruciatingly painful because of the scar tissue that had formed .

`` People who are pierced should not be snickered at , should not become the object of ridicule , should not be singled out for special and uneven and unequal treatment , '' Allred said . `` They should be respected just like everybody else . ''

She said she had received a call from TSA 's public affairs office Friday morning . `` We hope that means they 're going to jump on this and do something about it , '' she said . `` We want TSA to do the right thing now . We 're going to give them the opportunity . ''

Hamlin said she will continue to fly but will avoid the Lubbock airport . The next time she visits her great-uncle , she said , `` I will be driving . '' E-mail to a friend

CNN 's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report .

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NEW : TSA backs officers who made passenger remove nipple rings

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NEW : Agency acknowledges that procedures need to be changed

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Agent using handheld metal detector at Lubbock airport found piercings

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Woman says she heard male agents snicker as she removed rings